METRO DETROIT — Eight of the Catholic League’s 25 basketball teams resume post-holiday action with spotless records.
That is certain to change for two of the teams, and maybe for a pair of others, tomorrow evening (Tuesday, Jan. 7).
Bloomfield Hills Marian, 5-0 and ranked No. 3 in Division 1, visits Farmington Hills Mercy (6-0). Both teams easily handled their Macomb Conference opponents in the Calihan Challenge last month. Coach Gary Morris’ Marlins have cruised through their half-dozen games, scoring no less than 54 points and winning by an average of 31 points.
Coach Mary Cicerone’s Mustangs narrowly escaped a 40-39 upset by unheralded Auburn Hills Avondale. They opened the new year with a 43-26 decision over defending Division 1 Saginaw Heritage. Shannon Kennedy poured in 19 points.
Statistics, records and rankings are meaningless when these two archrivals collide. You are advised to get to Mercy’s gym early for the 7 p.m. tipoff.
Ann Arbor Greenhills is the other girls squad with a spotless 4-0 record. They will host Riverview Gabriel Richard, which won its first five games but has dropped the last two.
On the boys side, 4-0 Warren De La Salle travels to 4-0 Eastpointe. The Pilots beat a pretty good West Bloomfield team by 13 points, but had to go overtime to defeat Hamtramck, 65-62.
Detroit Loyola has assembled a 7-0 record by an average score of 67-51. The Bulldogs traveled to Chicago last Saturday for their most recent win, 66-46 over Christ the King Jesuit.
Loyola might be on a collision course with 5-0 Macomb Lutheran North in the CHSL AA Division leadership. On paper, both teams should still be perfect when they meet Feb. 4 at North.
Riverview Gabriel Richard (5-0) begins its defense of the Intersectional 1 Division Jan. 10 against Ann Arbor Greenhills.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep (5-0) is generating a lot of attention this young basketball season.
Five days before Christmas, in a packed Dombrowski Fieldhouse, the Eaglets overcame a 12-point first-quarter deficit to rout Clarkston, 73-54. The then-No. 3 ranked Eaglets leapfrogged Clarkston for the Division 1 top spot.
They solidified that position last Saturday, traveling to No. 5 Grand Blanc for a 69-66 victory before an estimated 2,000 spectators.
St. Mary’s led 38-18 midway in the second quarter. Grand Blanc rallied to trail 51-50 to start the fourth quarter and tie the game at 62-62 with 1:29 to play.
Wisconsin-bound Lorne Bowman calmly sank two free throws with 2 seconds to play to ice the game for St. Mary’s. He had a game-high 28 points.
The Eaglets’ stern test will begin Jan. 14 at Novi Detroit Catholic Central (2-1) when they kick off four weeks of home-and-away battles against Central Division rivals — Detroit U-D Jesuit (3-2), De La Salle and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (3-2).
